Per Volar Su Nata
by Quatermass
Summary: (Based on whitetigerwolf's 'Tamaran Contract' challenge) Harry doesn't know it, but his grandmother wasn't human. He also doesn't know that he has a marriage contract to the deposed princess of another world. But secrets will be exposed, and Harry will gain new allies, and new powers in the fight against Voldemort. But will it be enough?
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

This story had a bit of a troubled genesis. I initially intended to do one in the style of megamatt09, with a Harry/Supergirl pairing, and then, given whitetigerwolf's 'Tamaran Contract' challenge, I considered doing a Harry/Supergirl/Starfire pairing. But that story, the original version of _Per Volar Su Nata_ , I found myself becoming dissatisfied with. I eventually decided I could do a Harry/Starfire pairing much better than a three-way, or even Harry/Supergirl (though that's still on the cards). This is the result.

The title is not Latin, by the way, but Italian, meaning 'born to soar', coming from Dante Aligheri's Divine Comedy.

Anyway, time for the disclaimers. Firstly, this is an M-rated work for various reasons. Sex, violence, and dark themes. You have been warned.

Secondly, there will be a number of annotations, and I don't want to hear any bellyaching.

Thirdly, there _will_ be spoilers for the Harry Potter books, and for the DC universe. It will certainly be a substantial AU for both. And the students will be a year older than in canon (so instead of Harry being 15 as he is at the beginning of Book 5, he is closer to 16). Plus, the background for the Titans and particularly Starfire will be a hybrid of continuities, so keep that in mind.

Finally, this is a fan-written work. The DC Comics, Harry Potter, and the characters and scenarios are property of their respective owners. Please, support the official release. Otherwise, the Titans will kick your arse…


	2. Chapter 1: A Dream of Flying

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **A DREAM OF FLYING**

 _"He has your eyes," one woman said to the other, smiling at a baby the other woman was holding._

 _"So I am told," the mother said. "But even so…we have to hide his looks, just like I had to hide mine. Humans…are not always welcoming of the different, and wizards even less so. The follies and foibles of any sentient species are amplified within them. I'm surprised that you came all the way out here, Your Majesty."_

 _"Please, call me Luand'r. I am not queen of_ _ **this**_ _world. I came merely to see whether any remnant of the Astur line remained, and to offer the hand of friendship if you wished to return. I wish I could have met your mother, Lilin."_

 _"She died saving my life. I've been going out in secret, dealing with the Death Eaters, but I don't think I will be able to stop Voldemort. And with the prophecy hanging over our heads…"_

 _"Indeed. You are going into hiding before long to protect your child."_

 _"I won't be just cowering. I will go out and fight, but I will pick my battles. I have my son to protect."_

 _"If he gains anything from you, then he'll be a fine warrior. My youngest daughter, Koriand'r, is about his age." Queen Luand'r seemed to consider something. "Perhaps that may be something to try."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Lilin, I have a proposal for you. It may sound odd, but I ask you to hear me out first…"_

* * *

Harry stared at the letter his godfather had sent him. It was a few days shy of his sixteenth birthday, and he had been getting steadily more and more angry at being kept in the dark. But now, he had received this. The letter in of itself had been unremarkable, filled with banal nonsense, but there were a few key phrases here and there that had Harry, on a whim, use the phrase used to activate the Marauder's Map. And when he had said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good,", he found a very different message. And this was how it ran.

 _Harry,_

 _You'll have to sit tight for a short while longer. However, while I can't explain everything in this letter, I can explain a number of things._

 _First things first: the Ministry of Magic has launched a smear campaign against you and Dumbledore via_ The Daily Prophet. _Some of the things they've written are beyond the pale, but Fudge is refusing to acknowledge Voldemort has risen again. I think some of the Death Eaters bribing Fudge have been suggesting this campaign._

 _Secondly, don't blame your friends for not writing to you with more detailed information. Blame Dumbledore. He ordered them not to, supposedly for your own safety. However, I know differently, and I will discuss this with you when we come. He's even forbidden Hermione from using Muggle mail to contact you, when virtually no Death Eater would even think of tracing Muggle mail._

 _Thirdly…I'm not sure we can trust Dumbledore, not entirely. Myself, Moony, and my cousin Nymphadora Tonks are the only adults you can trust, and out of your friends, Hermione and the Twins are the only ones I think you can trust. This isn't because of the others being malicious, it's because they're all beholden to Dumbledore, and, well, I know you'll hate to hear this, but…he isn't looking out for your best interests. After all, he sends you back to the Dursleys, year after year. And the situations you've been in, well, he could have done more to prevent. I don't think he's being malicious, just a control freak. Unfortunately, most here think that the sun shines out of his arse, and that includes the Weasleys. Well, save for the Twins._

 _Finally…I have a big secret to tell you. Like, a major secret. I haven't told you before because we've both had so many other things to deal with. But I think you're ready now, and besides, I'm sure you're sick of being kept in the dark. Just be warned, though, this will change your life._

 _Be ready. We'll be coming for you soon._

 _Yours,_

 _Padfoot_

 _PS. When we come for you, don't call Tonks 'Nymphadora'. She'll get angry at the bare minimum. At the worst…you'll need a cup. You know, like Muggles use for cricket. She kicks_ _ **hard**_ _._

Harry didn't know what to make of that. What was this about a secret? And what was with Sirius badmouthing Dumbledore all of a sudden? Or telling him that the Weasleys couldn't be trusted? What the hell was this all about?

Harry didn't tell Hermione, or indeed any of his friends, but lately, he'd been feeling…odd. Well, beyond having these dreams of Voldemort that weren't quite dreams, he was sure.

It had started, albeit subtly, after the Dementor swarm at the end of last year. It was as if their attempts to eat his soul had loosened… _something_. Like there was something within him, struggling to break free. He wasn't sure what, but he found himself yearning for more sunlight. Sometimes, he felt like he could fly, fly fast, fly forever.

But he couldn't. Without a broom, he was essentially earthbound. And that frustrated him no end…

* * *

It had happened later that day. He had spent most of the day doing his assigned chores. He had to admit, Sirius had a point. Despite protesting to Dumbledore about his treatment at the Dursleys, Harry always was sent back here. It wasn't as bad as Azkaban, given Sirius' tales of it, but until he got his Hogwarts letter, he was treated little better than a House Elf, and it was only a little bit better since. He had his own bedroom, and the chores were reduced, as was the physical abuse, but that was about it. He was still the Dursleys' servant and verbal punching bag for too long in the year.

He was sent outside to do the weeding, and then, as he was plucking them out of the garden, he heard a hissed " _Stupefy_ ", and was knocked unconscious before he could do anything. And when he did wake up, it was in a chair. One, thankfully, he wasn't tied to.

In fact, it was a very comfortable chair in a decently-lit lounge room. In addition, Sirius, Remus, Hermione, the Twins and a rather punkish-looking young woman with bubblegum-pink hair were sitting around in the same room.

"Sorry about that, Harry," Sirius said. "But we needed to get you away from there, and I know you would have asked so many questions, we couldn't get away cleanly. Even now, we don't have much time."

"Time for what?" Harry asked, feeling his anger well up.

Sirius held up a hand. "It's past time that I told you something, Harry. I meant to do it later, when I thought you were ready to know, but I overheard something that had me worried you'll never hear it from me. It's something your parents told me to tell you when you came of age, but I have to tell you sooner."

"And what's that?"

Sirius gathered himself, before dropping the bombshell. A bombshell that demolished everything Harry thought he knew about the world, about his life, even more so than when Hagrid told him he was a wizard. "You're not wholly human, Harry. Neither was your mother."

Harry stared at him blankly. In a flat, dangerous tone, he said, "What."

Sirius held up his hands. "Please, just listen to me first before you ask any questions, okay? I'm trying to explain as much as I can. It sounds stupid, but I promise you, it's true. Actually, Hermione, you're up. You know a bit more about the background than I do."

"What?" Harry asked, as Hermione came over.

Hermione nodded. "Harry…what do you know about the Teen Titans?"

Harry blinked at the question. "Umm…that's like the junior version of the Justice League, right? The one that started up a couple of years back. I know the Batman's protégé Robin is a member, there's a little brother of Superman, and there's that shapeshifting kid, Beast Boy or something. There's Cyborg, there's that spooky mage, Raven, teen versions of the Flash and Green Arrow, that teenaged girl version of the Martian Manhunter, and some other alien girl called Starfire."

"Okay, so I don't need to explain it. That's good," Hermione said.

"Dudley's a fan, even if Vernon and Petunia calls them freaks," Harry said bitterly. "But what do the Titans have to do with anything?"

"Well, that's the thing. It's not the Titans in general, but apparently one of them in particular," Hermione said, before giving the floor back to Sirius.

"You won't know this, Harry, but your mother and your aunt were only half-sisters. I'm not sure if Petunia knows, though I wouldn't be surprised if she did, the spiteful hag. Petunia's mother died in childbirth. Not long afterwards, your grandfather met another woman, and fell in love with her. But as it turned out, this woman was actually from another planet. She fled here to escape an assassination attempt on her family, as they were nobility on said planet. She adopted the name of Daisy Aster, an English version of her own name, Deizin Astur. She gave birth to Lily, and used the same means of concealing her alien features as she did with herself. Your grandparents died after an attack by Voldemort, but Daisy went out fighting. Neither the Death Eaters nor the Aurors at the time would admit it, but she took out a dozen Death Eaters before her husband's death distracted her long enough for her to be hit by the Killing Curse. Lily knew because she was there at the time. She had to be stunned and dragged away by James, as she was pregnant with you."

"…Then why did she die? Why did she sacrifice herself for me if she was so powerful? Couldn't she have killed Voldemort and then survived?"

"Believe me, she tried. She actually attacked Voldemort, but he was good at countering her. And she couldn't do too much unless she was in disguise. You have to remember, Superman was just starting out at the time, and so was the Batman. Vigilantes of any kind were treated with suspicion, and your mother was seen as a murderous inhuman creature killing Purebloods, even by Dumbledore. At about this time, Lily was tracked down by one of the royals of her mother's homeworld, Queen Luand'r. Luand'r made a most extraordinary offer: her oldest child had been afflicted by an illness that would probably rob her of her ability to fly, and she was worried about genetic stagnancy. So, she asked for a marriage contract to be put into place, between you and her youngest child." He sighed. "Her sacrificing herself to save you was to be a last resort, but Voldemort blocked Portkeys, Apparition, the Floo, he even stopped your family from leaving through the doors. The ritual she used was actually from her mother's world. That's why the feat hasn't been replicated. Magic is rare there, but it's not unheard of."

"So she sacrificed herself as a last resort." On Sirius' nod, Harry asked, "Okay, so why didn't you or Remus tell me?"

"Harry, I was probably the only one outside of your family that knew. Remus was looked on with suspicion as a traitor," Sirius said. "I doubt Pettigrew would have known either. And when we first met, I'd just been in Azkaban for over a decade, and I had almost forgotten. I was more fixated on getting Pettigrew. And with everything else going on with the Tri-Wizard Tournament, well, if I removed your bindings at the time, people would have noticed. Okay, I guess I'm making excuses. But the thing that reminded me was when I sent Moony into Gringotts to check on your finances. I had this nasty suspicion that Dumbledore might have helped himself to some of your inheritance, as he did persuade James to help fund the Order of the Phoenix during the last war. Thankfully, he's done no such thing. But we found the marriage contract."

"Oh God, I'm going to be married, to someone I don't even know," Harry groaned, putting his head in his hands.

"Harry…it might not be so bad," Hermione said.

"Of course it isn't, my dear Hermione," Fred said.

"After all, Harry is marrying a princess," George added.

"Oh, even better," Harry muttered sarcastically. With his luck, she'd be like Malfoy with tits.

Except…now that he came to think about it, he only knew of three girls on the Teen Titans. He assumed that was why Hermione brought them up. There was Raven, Starfire, and that Martian girl. He didn't know enough about them to know which of them, if any, were alien royalty.

"Harry…here, I'll undo the bindings," Remus said. "Sirius showed me how." And with that, he waved his wand. Harry Harry felt something shatter within him. Then, suddenly, he felt a stabbing pain in his scar, heard an unearthly screech, felt something drip down his face. As the pain faded, he felt something vaguely snap into place, like he was something stretched out of shape, and then let loose.

And then, he felt the gentle burning fire through his veins. He felt lighter than air, like he could fly. He felt like he could just point at something, and it would go…

He did point at something, and suddenly, with a brief screech, a bolt of green energy smacked into the wall, leaving a scorch mark. Harry stared down at his hand, only to start. His vision through his glasses was blurry, so he took them off, and realised, he could see VERY clearly indeed. His skin was orange-coloured. Rather like…

Harry blinked. "Do you have a mirror?"

Tonks handed over one, and Harry stared at what he saw reflected in it. His appearance, after all, had changed somewhat.

His skin was now a vibrant orange. His hair was now a deep burgundy, a dark reddish brown. His eyes, while still green, had sclera a lighter shade of the same colour. His scar had faded. Everything else was, more or less, the same, though his body had changed somewhat beneath his clothes, he could tell. He felt stronger, faster, _better_.

And now, he knew who they were talking about. "Holy crap…am I…?"

"You are. A quarter-Tamaranean. The marriage contract was between Harrin 'Harry' of the lines of Potter and Astur, and Princess Koriand'r," Sirius said.

"Which means, Harry," Hermione said, "you're engaged to Starfire of the Teen Titans."

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, if it isn't one thing, it's another. Harry learns of his heritage, and now, he's in an arranged marriage with Starfire.**

 **Part of the problem with the original version of the story was that it was a bit too happy, lacking in character conflict, and so on. Plus, adding Kara to the mix was troublesome. So, no harem or threeway, just Harry/Kori. In addition, getting the contract into the story seemed a bit awkward, and while this version still is a bit awkward, it's less awkward than before, frankly.**

 **Also, if you're worried that I'm going to be bashing Dumbledore…well, he's not going to be a villain in this fic. He's going to be a hindrance as much as a help, but he's more incompetent and manipulative than evil in this fic. He will still try to help Harry, though. A bit like the Pointy-Haired Boss from** ** _Dilbert_** **on one of his good days.**

 **Little bit of trivia: a good chunk of this, including Sirius' letter and the initial parts of Harry's kidnapping, were actually adapted from my first draft of my** ** _Homestuck_** **crossover** ** _Kakistocracy_** **, which was fairly different to the version I eventually published.**

 **The title of this chapter was inspired by the title of the first volume of Alan Moore's run on** ** _Miracleman_** **, by the way.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	3. Chapter 2: Affianced

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **AFFIANCED**

Harry struggled to remember what he could about Starfire. Orange skin, green eyes with green sclera, red hair, tended to dress a little skimpily. Like, she wore a figure-hugging long-sleeved top in purple, short shorts of the same colour, and bared her midriff(1). Oh, and she was what some of the boys in Gryffindor would call 'smoking hot'. So she ticked the 'looks' box, though no long term relationship was built on looks alone, obviously. And he didn't know enough about her personality to make much of a judgement.

What about powers? So he knew what to expect from his own, anyway Well, there was flight, and energy blasts, like those he just used. Strength as well, nowhere near as strong as Superman or Supergirl, but still…

"Hermione, do you know anything more about Starfire?" Harry asked.

"I do. I'm a bit of a fan of the Titans. Starfire's actually one of the ones we know more about. Her real name is Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran, though she's been deposed by her older sister, Komand'r, so the title doesn't mean much. 'Starfire' is actually what 'Koriand'r' translates into in English. She escaped to Earth about a year ago, and joined the Titans. There've been rumours that she and Robin are an item, but apparently both have denied that. Hopefully their denials are sincere, because, well, it's going to be awkward to say the least, otherwise."

"Is this contract wholly binding? Like, I'm not going to have to go through with it if it doesn't work out?" Harry asked.

"No," Sirius said. "I think the plan was for you two to get to know each other anyway, and if severed before actual marriage, the only thing that would be paid is compensation from the Potter family vault. So while binding, it's not like the Tri-Wizard Tournament. But we're here anyway. We're currently in Jump City, at one of my family's lesser-known properties."

"It's better than that awful home at…" Hermione frowned. "I forgot about the Fidelius. But it's better than that place."

"That's because it was bought and maintained by one of the more open-minded members of the Blacks," Sirius said. "Anyway, we should be getting visitors before long…"

* * *

It was rare for owl post to come to the Titans Tower, even given their liaising with MACUSA. Rachel was usually the one who brought it in, with the wards she developed diverting any magical mail to a box she devised, one that would strip almost any known curse from the mail. She had tried marketing it to the wizards, but as much of the magic she used was demonic, they refused. Even though, for once, the demonic magic was actually being used against dark magic.

She frowned when she fished the letter from the box. It was definitely a Gringotts letter, which wasn't unusual: Rachel had correspondence with them herself, and they at least accepted the curse-stripping postbox. No, what was unusual was the recipient. It was addressed to Princess Koriand'r. And the thing was, Kori had barely any correspondence with the magicals. Okay, that was partly because she had only arrived on Earth relatively recently, but also because not many of the Titans had regular correspondence with the local magicals. Rachel got some, as did Dick (who actually got hired occasionally by the local Aurors to help with physical self-defence techniques) and Garfield (who sometimes got to meet magical creatures, much to his delight, as it meant more forms for him to change into), but Kori?

Rachel quickly scanned the letter for any curse residue, but couldn't find any. So she decided to take it to Kori.

She found Kori in the training room, flying around, firing screeching blasts of energy from her hands at the targets. Starbolts, Rachel recalled. Concentrated jets of light, converted from the ultraviolet radiation that Tamaraneans absorbed. "Kori!" Rachel called out. When Kori looked at her, Rachel waved her letter.

Kori eagerly swooped down, and landed, plucking the letter from Rachel's hands. "Thank you, Rachel. Though it's odd that I have a letter that is not from an admirer. This seems to be more official." She opened it, and read. Rachel didn't need her empathic abilities to tell Kori was going through a gamut of emotions, a flood of conflicting feelings.

Eventually, Kori murmured something in her native language. Then, in English, she murmured, "So he is still alive. My mother feared the worst, but she couldn't leave her duties to find him, so I did not think to look for him…"

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked.

Kori looked up at her, before saying, "Rachel, I am betrothed."

"Betrothed?"

"Yes. To the last of the Astur line, Harin. But he has a human name, Harry Potter."

Rachel blinked in surprise. "Did you say…Harry Potter?"

"Indeed I did, Rachel. Why? Does the name sound familiar to you?"

Rachel frowned. Well, she frequently frowned, but her habitual frown deepened. Could it be the same Harry Potter? "May I?" she said, indicating the letter.

Kori handed it over, and Rachel pored over it. It was a letter sent by Sirius Black, of all people, though he plead his innocence, and asked that, if they wanted, they bring someone capable of Legilimency. So, they'd have to take M'gann. Always assuming it wasn't a trap. Then again, there were things that didn't add up about that whole debacle with Sirius Black fifteen years ago.

So, unless this was some elaborate trap (and Rachel couldn't dismiss the possibility: Batman, while training them, had drilled them about being cautious to the point of near-paranoia), this really was about Harry Potter. Which meant she had a lot of explaining to do. And she needed to get Dick and M'gann on this at the very least…

* * *

Dick was surprised and a little angry at the fact that Kori had been betrothed. He and Kori had…well, they denied it was a romantic relationship, or at least they were boyfriend and girlfriend, but there was something there. But Rachel also could see that jealousy was only a small part of Dick's reaction: Batman's protégé was protective of his comrades, and he was worried for Kori's safety. M'gann was just curious.

Rachel delivered what she knew about Harry Potter and Sirius Black. Dick pondered what he had learned. He probably sympathised with Harry a little now: he himself was an orphan, as was his mentor. "So, Kori is now betrothed to a part-Tamaranean, someone who is also one of the most famous wizards in the world?"

Rachel nodded. "I have followed his exploits in imported copies of _The Daily Prophet_ , though articles from that, you have to take with more than a pinch of salt. Magical Britain has little in the way of libel laws, and they don't care much for No-Maj laws either."

"We know that already, dealing with MACUSA," Dick muttered. "If Sirius Black is innocent, why haven't they tried to exonerate him?"

"Public sentiment is firmly against him. Even if Harry tried to exonerate Black publicly, it would be futile. Skilled wizards can fool Veritaserum and Legilimency, and in any case, the current Minister has issued a Kiss on Sight order. And that means a Kiss from a Dementor, a creature that sucks out souls, leaving the body little more than a drooling vegetable. I think Black is taking advantage of this whole situation to try and claim asylum either with us or the Justice League. Probably the latter, but he's contacted us first because of Harry's betrothal to Kori."

"This still seems like it could get messy," M'gann said. "Even if Black is on the level, having a known fugitive from Magical Britain would spark an uproar both there and in the MACUSA. It's bad enough they treat Kori and I like things, not to mention Garfield and Connor. And that's without mentioning the mess Kara caused when she first arrived."

"They'd treat me even worse if they knew of my lineage, M'gann," Rachel said pointedly. "The moment they learn I am Trigon's daughter, they'll probably try to kill or capture me. As it is, they just think I am a native of Azarath…which is partly true. And that's bad enough."

"What do we know about his character?" Dick asked.

"Nothing remotely objective," Rachel said. "Using _The Daily Prophet_ as a basis is just asking for trouble: at the moment, they're running a smear campaign against him, claiming him to be a delusional attention seeker for claiming that Voldemort's back from the dead. Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Voldemort did come back, and Minister Fudge is just in denial, not helped by the bribes he gets from the richer families, many of whom are sympathetic to Voldemort's cause. We'd have to meet him. That being said, to manage what he did during the Tri-Wizard Tournament, he must be somewhat brave. He did, after all, face off against a dragon."

M'gann shuddered at the thought. Dragons, after all, could breathe fire, and Martians were pyrophobes. "Still, he is a celebrity," she pointed out. "He could have this sense of entitlement."

"One who was apparently kept unaware of his status until he went to Hogwarts," Rachel pointed out. "My thought was, we use Meeting Plan Gamma."

Dick nodded approvingly. That plan meant a small but diverse group goes to the meeting, but notified the other Titans. If the first group don't get in contact with them by a certain time, the others come to the rescue. It was used for meetings with unknowns who may or may not be a threat. It might be paranoid, but they needed to be sure.

"Well then," Kori said, trying to look like her usual cheerful self, "shall we go?"

* * *

Harry was feeling nervous, to say the least, as he waited in the atrium. If the Titans had received the letter Sirius had sent them, then they should be coming here any moment. Harry had showered, changed his clothes (and had had Hermione and Remus fussing over him to smarten himself up like mother hens…which put him disturbingly in mind of Molly Weasley), and now, here he was, waiting for his betrothed.

 _Betrothed_. Harry was going to be married to an alien princess. A deposed one, true, but a bloody princess. And if that weren't surreal enough, said princess was also a superhero, one of the Teen Titans! Oh, and Harry was an alien too, or at least part. Enough that he would stand out more than he did already.

Sirius and Remus had been worried about that strange apparition that had emerged from Harry's scar as his appearance changed back, though. Apparently, it looked like a smoky wraith with Voldemort's face, and Remus was researching it in this house's library. Still, his scar had faded significantly, so that was a bonus.

But still…this was all a bit sudden, to say the least. And he had to wonder how Koriand'r would take it. She would probably be apprehensive too.

He felt a faint tickle in his mind briefly. Then, not long afterwards, there was a knock on the door. Sirius went to answer it, and opened the door. "Good afternoon," he said. "Welcome to the _pied-à-terre_ of the Black family. Thanks for coming on short notice."

"It affects one of our own," came the voice of a boy about Harry's age. "M'gann's already scanned the minds of those here. In any case, good afternoon to you as well. Can we come in?"

Sirius nodded, and let in a quartet of teenagers, all fairly diverse and strange-looking. At their head was the boy who had spoken, the sole boy, dark-haired, wearing an eyemask of some kind. He was wearing a red uniform with the letter 'R' emblazoned in his breast, with green trousers and a black cape with yellow lining. Harry recognised him instantly as Robin, the protégé of Batman.

The first girl to come in wore a white shirt, a cape, and a blue skirt. Her exposed skin was green, and her hair red. She was actually kind of cute. Harry was sure that this was the one who was a female version of the Martian Manhunter.

The second was wearing a dark blue hooded cloak over what looked like a black leotard. The hood was being pulled down, revealing the solemn, stoic face of a girl whose pensive features were framed by a short bob of dark purple hair. Her eyes were violet, and her skin was pale grey. Harry knew this was Raven.

And then…there she was. Looking uncharacteristically nervous, and understandably so. He had to admit, she was more beautiful in person than he had imagined, even from the few images he had seen of her. Which made him feel somewhat inadequate, to say the least. Even while nervous, she seemed to have, paradoxically, a confidence that radiated out.

Harry walked over to her, and put his hand out. "Good afternoon, Princess Koriand'r. I'm Harry Potter," he said, in as tactful and calm a tone as he could manage. "I'm grateful to you for coming here. This has been as much a surprise to me as it must have been for you."

After a moment, she took his hand (and how comfortingly warm it felt), and gave him a smile. "Yes, it has. And please, call me Kori."

Well, it was a start. No fights, no arguments, no battles to the death. Harry just had to hope his luck would last…

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry and Kori have met, and it's not too bad so far. Time will tell, though.**

 **1\. This is Starfire's costume from the New 52…well, when she got her own series recently. I'm thinking of the one where she goes to Florida for a seachange. I wanted something a bit more modest than her first New 52 costume, or the sling bikini with accessories she wore before then, but I also wanted to show her wearing something different to what she wears in the cartoon.**


	4. Chapter 3: Clearing the Air

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **CLEARING THE AIR**

"So you looked into our minds?" Sirius asked the green-skinned teenager, once Harry and Kori had introduced themselves.

"As a precaution. Normally, I try to avoid doing that to allies or civilians, but you were unknowns, and we wanted to be sure of Harry's character and intentions," she replied.

"Also, you're a wanted fugitive in the UK, Black," Raven pointed out, her voice a soft, low rasp. "While the case wasn't wholly proven, we had to be sure. At the very least, M'gann believes you have no ill intentions towards us, and my empathic abilities have confirmed that, at least to some degree."

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourselves?" Fred asked.

"Hermione and Harry might know of you, but we don't," George said.

Robin looked at his comrades, before he nodded. "I'll introduce us. I'm not going to divulge my real name, though the others may. I'm Robin."

"I'm M'gann Morss, but most call me Miss Martian," the green-skinned girl said.

"I'm Rachel, but I prefer Raven," Raven said.

"And I am Koriand'r, though in your tongue, it means 'Starfire'," Kori said.

"Very well. I am Sirius Black, that is Nymphadora Tonks…OW! Dora!"

"Don't. Call me. _Nymphadora_ ," Tonks snarled, having kicked Sirius' shin.

"It means 'gift of the nymphs'," Raven remarked. "What's your problem with it?"

"My problem is that I got teased for it."

"Lucky you," Raven said dryly.

"Anyway," Sirius said, wincing at his bruised shin, "that's Harry Potter, this is Hermione Granger, and these two are..."

"We're Fred Weasley…"

"And George Weasley…"

"Pranksters extraordinaire at your service, ladies and gentleman," Fred and George chorused, bowing.

After a moment, Robin said, "Well, if you're nothing like the Joker, we're cool."

Now, Fred and George knew only a little about the superheroes and their adversaries, but even they had heard of the infamous 'Clown Prince of Crime' who fought the Batman. "Certainly not," Fred said, offended.

"We're actually _funny_ ," George added.

"Not to mention we don't kill people with our pranks," Fred concluded.

"He's a fourth-rate murderous hack," they chorused.

Raven looked like she was struggling not to facepalm. Robin looked like he was trying not to laugh at the Joker being called a fourth-rate hack. M'gann and Kori were giggling slightly.

"Well, shall we take this somewhere more comfortable?" Sirius suggested.

* * *

"I see," Raven said, contemplating what they had just been told. "So I was right in suspecting the British Ministry to be in denial, and Voldemort is indeed once more amongst the living. And Fudge is running a smear campaign against you and Dumbledore. What is it about magic and powers that cause the follies of humans to become magnified?"

"That was a little poetic, Rachel," Kori said, from where she was sitting next to Harry. He actually found himself enjoying her presence, so warm and friendly after the initial awkwardness. Not that the awkwardness had gone away completely, but it was less than before.

"It was accidental, I assure you." She looked up at Sirius. "What is Dumbledore doing about this?"

"Overtly, there is little he can do. While he holds three positions, he's already lost one, the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and his hold on the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW is looking shaky. Dumbledore's influence is on the wane thanks to the Death Eaters lining Fudge's pockets."

"It sounds a lot like what happened in Gotham before Batman came along," Robin said, folding his arms as he leaned against a wall in the living room.

"It's both not as bad as Gotham, and yet worse, from what I know," Sirius said. "Crime isn't quite as rife in Magical Britain, but corruption and bribery are widespread. So too is nepotism. Not all of the Purebloods throwing money around are Death Eaters or their sympathisers, though. Unfortunately, Voldemort and his followers know how to play the game. Dumbledore, unofficially, has brought back the Order of the Phoenix, a vigilante group of sorts meant to fight the Death Eaters. However, at the moment, Dumbledore's restricted their activities to reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering, though he's also having people keep an eye on the Department of Mysteries."

Raven looked sharply at Sirius, before she asked, "A prophecy?"

After a moment, Sirius nodded. "I don't know the details, only that Lily and James believed it enough to go into hiding. I'm not sure it's the prophecy Voldemort wants, Dumbledore won't say, and there's a lot of things rumoured to be in there that could be used as weapons. But…"

"Wait a moment, prophecies are real?" Robin asked.

"Yes, though true Seers are rare," Sirius said. "And sometimes, prophecies only come true if you act on them."

"The story of Oedipus being a case in point," Raven remarked. "Not to mention Perseus. And there was what happened to King Croesus of Lydia, who was told a great kingdom would fall if he tried to conquer Persia. He thought that Persia was the great kingdom, but it was actually his own."

"So, we have a wizard who is capable of holding his own against a Tamaranean hybrid at least," M'gann mused. "It's bad luck that this contract has come into play at the time when this warlock's come back from the grave."

"Look, I brought it up for a few reasons. The first is that Harry is being slandered by the Ministry, and they will use any opportunity they can to get him kicked out of Hogwarts," Sirius said. "The second is, frankly, Harry deserves some good news in his life, and while this whole contract thing is a shock, I think it might go some way to helping him. The third is, frankly, Harry hasn't been trained as much as he could have been. Dumbledore insists on giving Harry a 'normal life', but…well, he's placed with abusive relatives, and with Voldemort on the rise, he needs as much training as he can."

Robin got the point quickly. "You want him to train with us."

"If that's possible, or at least Koriand'r. I also know there's magic users on the Justice League, and then there's you, Raven, so…"

"I can't train him in much," Raven said. "My magic is, for the most part, very different and incompatible with yours, for various reasons."

"Oh, what are those?" Hermione asked.

Raven fixed her with an unamused look. " _Personal_ reasons," she said coldly. Hermione knew to back off then.

"How fit are you physically?" Robin asked, walking over to Harry and peering at him.

"Fairly. I'm not physically strong, but I can run fairly fast," Harry said, scowling inwardly when he thought of why. Namely Dudley and his gang playing games of 'Harry-hunting'. "Then again, that might have changed when I've got my heritage unlocked. I don't feel any different, and I haven't broken anything, but…"

Sirius, after some thought, went over to a fireplace, and handed a poker to Harry. Getting what he meant, Harry bent the poker. Easily. As if it was a cardboard tube. His eyes wide, he bent it back. "Whoa," he muttered. He then looked around, only for Sirius to hand him a rather stern-looking bust of some wizard, made of obsidian.

"Crush it," Sirius said. "With one hand. Don't worry, that's an old bust of Uncle Cygnus. I didn't want it."

Harry nodded, before he gripped the bust's head in his hand, and squeezed. Almost instantly, most of the head became powder. "Wow," Hermione breathed. "Obsidian is about 5-6 on the Moh's Hardness Scale. Nowhere near as hard as diamond, but…"

"Pretty damn hard," Sirius said, Vanishing the remnants of the bust. "And Harry did that with ease. And I'm sure that, even if you're not actually as fast as Superman or Kori, you'll be pretty damn fast in the air."

"I'm sure he will be," Kori said with a smile. Harry couldn't help but notice the brief glare Robin sent in his direction at that.

"Doing training will be good," Harry said. "What good's the power if I don't know how to use it properly?"

"Right, but I'm a hard taskmaster," Robin said. "I got that from my mentor…"

* * *

It was shortly afterwards. Hermione and Tonks was talking to Raven and M'gann, along with Kori, it being apparently 'girl-talk' time, while Sirius had gone to find Remus. Robin had gestured for Harry to come with him. Harry had to admit to being wary: he didn't like the looks Robin had shot him.

Once they were out of the living room that they had been convening in, Robin looked pensive for a time, before he finally said, "I'm not happy with this, you know."

"Neither was I," Harry admitted. "I mean, she's a lovely and beautiful girl, but it's a bit of a shock for both of us to find out we've been betrothed." He then looked at Robin, and a thought wormed its way into his mind. "Wait a moment…were you two…going out?"

"What? No, I…" Robin shook his head. After a moment, he said, "I think something was there. Something I didn't realise was there until I heard about this. I kept on denying that she was my girlfriend, and she kept on denying that I was her boyfriend, but…now that I see this happening…look, I'm jealous, okay? I can't help it."

"…I'm sorry," Harry said quietly.

"No, it's fine. I shouldn't be. I should be glad for Kori, and anyway, M'gann's already vouched for you." Robin sighed quietly, before saying, "Do you know how we met?"

"No."

"Long story short, while we were on patrol, we saw her evading some captors. Some of the others like to joke that I only saved her because she was good-looking, but her captors weren't. The main reason, aside from that, was that I noticed that, as they fought, Kori actually worked to minimise damage to the surrounding area, while her captors didn't care about collateral damage, nearly killing people and certainly damaging or demolishing buildings. Long story short, we stopped them. And then, Kori kisses me. She's very affectionate, though the kiss thing was partly to learn English, as Tamaraneans learn different languages by skin contact with other species."

"Oh. And you were, well, smitten, right?"

"Not exactly, but, well, she was my first kiss. And even if I didn't think of her as my girlfriend consciously…"

"You feel protective of her, right?"

Robin nodded, looking relieved at Harry's understanding. "I'm sorry about that. We haven't had the best relationships with wizards before. MACUSA barely tolerates us. And given what little we knew about you, I couldn't help but be suspicious. My mentor taught me well."

"Ha! He'd get along well with an Auror called 'Mad-Eye' Moody. Always harping on about 'Constant Vigilance!' Though he must be slipping: he spent most of the past school year locked away in his own trunk, at the mercy of an escaped Death Eater."

"Batman once said, 'It's not paranoia when they are out to get you', though he holds nothing on the Question when it comes to paranoia," Robin said. "Anyway, look, if this whole betrothal contract thing works out, I'm glad. Kori…she's had a rather bad life. Her sister deposed her and her parents, betraying her people to the Citadel. She barely escaped before being made into a sex slave. We've clashed with her sister before. If you make her upset, I will come for you. We all will. But…if you can make her happy…I'll be happy for her."

"You'll be fine?"

"Hey, I know plenty of girls my age. You've met two of them already," Robin smiled.

Harry couldn't help but laugh softly at that. Then, he asked, "Are you okay with Kori being with me, despite Voldemort wanting to kill me?"

"Harry, we deal with people like that way too often," Robin said. "We have to be aware we could be killed at any time, that we have people fixated on killing us or robbing us of all we hold dear. Even in Gotham, I had to fight the Joker, Mr Freeze, Poison Ivy, Catwoman, Ra's al Ghul…name a rogue working in Gotham, and I've probably fought them."

"At least you chose to fight them," Harry said quietly. "I wasn't given that choice. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would have, given the choice, but I wasn't."

"But you do anyway?" Robin asked.

"Someone has to."

Robin shook his head. "Batman would _love_ you. Okay, once we figure out how long you guys are going to stay in Jump City, we'll try to work out a training regime for you. We'll also have to figure out how you and Kori are going to deal with this relationship. Hogwarts is in Scotland, and while you may be magical, as far as I know, Kori isn't, and the magicals get territorial about No-Majs being on their turf."

"No-Maj?"

"Oh, right. Rachel said you call us Muggles in Britain."

"Hey, you're a superhero," Harry said. "I'd rather call you that."

Robin chuckled. "I don't have powers, Harry. Neither does Speedy. We're just very good at what we do."

The two teenaged boys laughed, a little awkwardly, but it helped to clear the air. Maybe they wouldn't be friends any time soon, but at least they wouldn't be on bad terms. Which was better than getting into a fight over misunderstandings, something rather too common in the superhero world.

Of course, that was only one obstacle of many…

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, the wizards and the Titans have met on fairly good terms, and Harry and Robin have cleared the air. Now, next, some Harry and Kori…**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	5. Chapter 4: Getting to Know You

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **GETTING TO KNOW YOU**

"You can't be serious," Sirius hissed quietly.

Remus resisted the temptation to make a bad pun on his friend's name. Well, turnabout was fair play, after all. But the situation was serious, so he resisted. "I am. I think it may be a Horcrux."

"But in his scar?" Sirius asked incredulously. "Why would Voldemort make a Horcrux, meant to keep himself alive, in Harry? He wanted Harry dead!"

"I know, it's still a theory in progress. Maybe he intended to make a Horcrux with Harry's death, but he accidentally created one in the scar when he tried and failed to kill Harry. He's lucky then, that the Horcrux was dispelled when Harry changed back into a Tamaranean: normally, the only ways to destroy Horcruxes would have been lethal to him. But it also means Voldemort may have made more."

Sirius considered this. Remus had asked him to talk to him quietly about what he had found out. While Hermione, Tonks and the Twins were talking to the Titans, Harry, having spoken to Robin, was now talking to his fiancée in a study. And Sirius and Remus were in the library, looking at this frankly dark tome.

Sirius shook his head. "As much as I hate to say it, we need to tell Dumbledore. The man knows more about Voldemort than anyone else alive, well, save for the Dark Wanker himself, and if he doesn't know anything about Horcruxes, then I'll lick myself in my Padfoot form. I don't trust him where Harry is concerned, or mounting an effective offence against the Death Eaters…but I would trust him to want Voldemort gone enough to find and dispose of any Horcruxes. Have you been practising your Occlumency lately?"

"Not that much, I'm a bit rusty. Why?"

"Dumbledore's big on keeping secrets, and unless our Occlumency is up to par, chances are he might try to Obliviate us. He's already kept Harry with Petunia. I think blood wards are involved if he actually was sincere in trying to keep him safe, but he's also a bloody imbecile, given how much Petunia loathed Lily. Still…maybe if Harry has an in with the Titans, he could stay here between years at Hogwarts. Always assuming the Ministry doesn't kick him out…"

* * *

"It's rather dark, isn't it?" Kori remarked, looking around at the décor.

"I suppose it is," Harry said. "I don't know much about Sirius' family, only that they were infamously Dark wizards. Not actually evil, not always, but unpleasant."

Kori nodded. "And he is…how do you say it on Earth? Black sheep? White sheep?"

"White sheep, in this case," Harry said.

"White sheep of the family. Yes." She looked over at what looked like a wizarding version of van Gogh's _The Starry Night_ , and became pensive. "What do you know of my past, Harry?"

Harry explained what Robin had said, along with what Hermione had said. Kori nodded. "In truth, there is some reason to why my sister hates me. When she was young, it was discovered that she could not fly like we do. We use the stored ultraviolet energy in our bodies to fly." She gently floated a few inches off the ground. "Now you try it."

Harry did…and almost ended up braining himself on the ceiling. It seemed to come to him, like never forgetting to ride a bicycle, even if he hadn't ever ridden one in the first place. The instinct to fly. Kori giggled softly at it. "Your first time?" she asked.

"Yeah. I mean, aside from riding a broomstick or a Hippogriff."

"If it makes you feel any better, the first time I tried to fly, I _did_ hit the ceiling," Kori said, rubbing her head sheepishly as they lowered themselves back to the floor. "My parents wanted me to wait until we were outside, but…well, I got impatient, and for that I got a bit of a lump. Komand'r laughed at me. At the time, I just thought she was teasing me. But…in retrospect, I think it was pure malice. My sister was older than me, but because she couldn't fly, she was passed over for the throne in favour of me. That, and, well, the people of Tamaran associated the day of her birth with an attack by the Citadel Empire."

"Idiots," Harry muttered.

"I know, Harry, and I have to wonder whether Blackfire may have grown up differently had she been treated differently. It didn't help that, unlike most of our people, she had a rather grim nature. However, what's done is done. She deposed my parents and myself, allowed the Citadel to conquer us, and was on the verge of handing me to them as a chattel slave when I escaped," Kori said. "I was fortunate to have Robin and the other Titans help me when I arrived. I always intended to go back…but I find myself doing more good here than I could ever do against the Citadel. And I'm not sure how I can get back. Tamaran isn't that far from Earth, relatively speaking, but it is still light years away. And I need to be stronger. I can't take on the entire Citadel on my own. We Tamaraneans follow our passions and emotions, we live in the moment and try not to dwell on things that were or are yet to be, but being with the Titans has shown me the value of caution and prudence."

"And you're okay with this whole betrothal thing?"

"I am now. M'gann vouched for you when she scanned your mind, and I am pleased by what I see of your character so far," Starfire smiled. "In any case, I was raised with the possibility that I would be wed to someone I may not have had prior acquaintance with. I am royalty, after all. Well, I was. Now I am a fugitive."

As she began to look morose again, Harry gently took her hand. Again, he was struck by how comfortingly warm it was. "Hey, even if you weren't a princess, I wouldn't care. You seem to be a lovely girl."

"So I am told. I have a lot of admirers. Perhaps not as many as you, but I do get these letters proclaiming their love for me, though I have not met them. It's flattering, but a little disturbing to be the subject of such infatuation because of my looks."

"Lucky you. I have fangirls, all because I survived something my parents didn't," Harry said flatly.

And then, she embraced him, hugging him. The embrace was gentle, but comforting. In fact, it seemed to radiate warmth both actual and emotional. "You're not alone, Harry," she said. "You don't have to be alone, ever again. Even if we break this betrothal off, know that I refuse to let you feel alone, ever again. No Tamaranean should have to feel that way, nor should any human or other sentient being. I, for one, am glad to have another of my people here."

Harry, after a moment, said, "Thank you, Kori. I have a few friends already, but I'm glad to be able to have another."

Her smile became a fully-fledged grin, before she said, "You do not know about your heritage, from what I understand. Allow me to grant you the language you should have been born to." With that, she kissed him on the lips.

Almost instantly, Harry felt words, concepts and meanings slide into place. Words he had never spoken, and yet, now, he felt like he could use them. She broke off the kiss, and then said, in a language he had never heard but nonetheless understood perfectly, " _Well? Do you understand me?_ "

" _Perfectly_ ," Harry said. He had to admit, there was a poetry to this new language that English lacked. " _Is this the Tamaran language?_ "

" _Our most-used language, yes_ ," Kori said. In English, she said, "I believe the Earth term is _lingua franca_. I'm a little unused to idioms and figures of speech in English, but I'm getting used to them." Switching back to Tamaran, she said, " _I miss being able to speak to someone in our mother tongue, though. Unfortunately, language transfer only occurs to Tamaraneans. We can absorb languages from other species, but we can't transfer the language back except with our own kind. Which is a shame._ "

Harry, after a moment, said in English, "Maybe you can show me what life was like on Tamaran. Wizards have this thing called a Pensieve, it allows you to copy, extract, and view memories."

Kori's eyes widened, and then hugged him again, even harder. "That's a wonderful idea! I've been trying to find a way to do that for my friends! I wonder why Rachel didn't say anything?"

"Well, maybe she doesn't know about Pensieves."

Then, Kori's face fell. "Actually, I think I know why. Rachel…she hasn't had the best of pasts. Her upbringing was fine, but…she likes to keep to herself, and some parts of her past, she only opened up to us about recently. She wouldn't appreciate me telling you, and with good reason."

"…Okay," Harry said, conceding the point. Raven did seem like she was somewhat withdrawn and detached. Whatever mysterious reasons Kori alluded to was probably why. Though he noted both Kori and Raven coped with their pasts differently: Kori seemed to try to keep a happy demeanour, while Raven was sullen and snarky.

"Don't worry. In time, she will tell you. Rachel may not seem friendly, but she is loyal to her friends. We all are."

"And are _we_ friends yet?"

"I hope we will be. I certainly would like to think we're not far from it," Kori said. "I'm certainly going to enjoy teaching you how to fly and fight, and about our people and our culture. I believe I am excited at being a teacher."

"You'd probably be better than half the Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers we get at Hogwarts," Harry muttered.

"Oh? Why would they have incompetent teachers? And why would there be a plural of them? Does more than one teacher teach?"

"No. It's a long story…"

* * *

Hermione had to admit, she was warming to the others present. Robin was a little too serious, but once he relaxed, he was surprisingly easy to get along with. M'gann was a little reserved, but she was at least friendly. Rachel was another matter, but it was less that she was unfriendly and more that she was very stoic, with a sardonic edge. Occasionally, she'd smile or smirk, and Hermione found herself actually drawn into conversation with the grey-skinned teenager.

"So, your magic is from the dimensional enclave of Azarath?" Hermione asked.

"Mostly. Some of it, your wizards can do, but others…well, let's just say I'm unique, in a way I don't want to be," Rachel said.

"And Zatanna?"

"She got taught magic by her father, Giovanni Zatara," Rachel said. "Their school of magic is powerful, but difficult, as you need to use backwards speech for the incantation. You can't simply reverse the letters or words, you have to reverse the sound of the syllables, and that's pretty tricky."

Robin nodded. "Zatanna and Batman have known each other for a while, actually. She can do some pretty impressive stuff with her magic, and she's also a highly-trained stage magician and escapologist. Incidentally, I'd better send word to the others. If I don't send a signal soon, they're under orders to come find us." Robin took out a communicator, and sent a brief message, almost like an SMS. "We'll have to notify the League about Black and Lupin, not to mention the rest of this mess."

"We're not going to have one of those misunderstanding?" Hermione asked. "You know, when you guys fight each other to the death believing the other guy's a villain or something?"

Robin scoffed. "No."

"She has a point, Robin," Rachel snarked. "How many times have members of the League, or of the Titans for that matter, clashed over a misunderstanding when they first met?"

"If that really was the case, Rachel, by that logic, I should have been fighting with Harry the moment we walked in the door like a jealous psycho ex-boyfriend," Robin retorted.

" _Reductio ad absurdum_ ," Hermione muttered with a roll of her eyes.

"Pardon?" Tonks asked.

"She means arguing in a way to disprove a point by taking it to an absurd conclusion," Robin said. As Rachel and M'gann looked at him, he said, defensively, "What? I had good teachers, and not just how to kick ass."

"I never said you weren't intelligent, Robin," Rachel said. "I just didn't think Batman taught you about arguments from fallacies."

"We're crimefighters. We need to take things to conclusions, just not ludicrous ones."

* * *

In another, more camp, universe, a different Batman sneezed. A different Robin yelped, "Holy Rhinovirus, Batman! Are you catching a cold?"

"No, Robin, it just means that someone is talking about me behind my backside, and as my backside is one of two sides of the body, that means the culprit has two sides too, or rather, two faces. Namely, Two-Face(1)!"

* * *

"Did you feel that, Forge?" Fred asked.

"Indeed I did, Gred. Methinks we felt some strange resonance across the universe."

"What _are_ you two talking about?" Rachel demanded irritably.

"We have been taking lessons in alternative perception," Fred said.

"From a young neighbour of ours by the name of Luna Lovegood," George added.

"She says broadening our minds is the key to true enlightenment," Fred explained.

"And this is the result of education from our guru and honorary little sister," George concluded.

The Titans and witches in the room just stared at them blankly. So they were thankful when the door opened, and Harry and Kori walked in. Kori was smiling her usual wide smile, and Harry had a more tentative, but no less sincere smile. "I have been getting acquainted with my fiancée."

"Is that what they're calling it these days?" Tonks asked. When Hermione, Robin, and Harry shot her glares, she threw up her hands. "Hey, I'm kidding, yeesh! All I'm saying, be careful. And if you can't be careful, be safe. And if you can't be safe…well, name it after me(2). Oh, wait, bad idea."

"Harry, what is she talking about?" Kori asked.

"I think it's a sex joke, Kori…"

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, some serious stuff, some of Harry and Kori getting acquainted, and a bit of zaniness. We'll do a timeskip to the next chapter, when Harry's training has begun.**

 **Review-answering time!** **tamagat** **: Not really, but his magic helps close the gap between their strengths. Harry is certainly capable of superhuman strength.**

 **Mangahero18** **: Kori is based on a hybrid of the various sources (so that explains away any continuity problems: for example, Starbolts are actually innate to all Tamaraneans, rather than the result of experimentation). I actually based her on both her recent solo comic series (the costume she is wearing comes from that), as well as her incarnation in the recent animated films. I'm hearing Kari Wahlgren's voice when I write her rather than Hynden Walch's. I'm a sucker for Kari Wahlgren and her roles (like Ashe from** ** _Final Fantasy XII_** **, and Arturia from** ** _Fate/Zero_** **and** ** _Fate/Stay Night_** **), and her Starfire is more eloquent and less naïve than the TV cartoon version. She's somewhat OOC partly because she has just been thrust into a situation she wasn't quite ready for, despite being raised as royalty. Don't worry, she'll be back to being optimistic.**

 **Guest** **(regarding Harry's relative strength): Exactly. Hell, so many of the DC comics heroes are so OP, it ain't funny. Then again, so are some Marvel heroes, but it's a bit more egregious with DC…which I haven't really thought of before. Huh.**

 **Guest** **(regarding Kori learning Parseltongue): Shit, I hadn't even thought of that. Maybe that will be something they discover in a later chapter.**

 **1\. This is my bit of snark against the infamous 'Bat deductions' that happened a LOT in the old** ** _Batman_** **TV series, the one with the sadly late Adam West. That being said, I have to give a shout-out to a VERY good fic that crosses over that TV series with the Potterverse:** ** _Amy Potter is Batgirl!_** **by Philosophize. It may not be for everyone, what with the** ** _Batman_** **TV series crossover and the femslash between Amy Potter and Hermione, but if you don't mind that, it's an enjoyable and hilarious fic that manages to reconstruct the old TV show, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.**

 **2\. This is Misato's advice to Shinji Ikari before he goes to a school dance in another hilarious fic, the** ** _Evangelion_** **fanfic** ** _Nobody Dies_** **by Gregg Landsman.**


	6. Chapter 5: How to Train Your Tamaranean

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **HOW TO TRAIN YOUR TAMARANEAN**

Batman peered at the communique Robin had sent him, and frowned. It seemed that the Titans had gotten themselves into trouble with wizards from Magical Britain. Well, not trouble per se, but dealing with a known fugitive was problematic. He trusted Miss Martian enough to make a preliminary verdict of innocence, but to get it done properly, he wanted J'onn to do the same thing, with a deeper probe.

And now, apparently Starfire was betrothed to Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived. Batman remembered Potter coming up in discussion with Zatanna. Batman found the parallels between his childhood and Potter's disconcerting: orphaned at an early age, subjected to fame since his youth, high expectations made of him…though at least Joe Chill was little more than an ordinary mugger. To be deliberately targeted by the wizarding equivalent of a terrorist was another matter. And Batman had grown up in luxury, while Zatanna suggested that Potter had been raised in somewhat more mundane settings.

There were rumours, according to Zatanna, rumours that the Ministry of Magic in Britain had tried to quash. Rumours that Voldemort had risen again, rumours the Ministry was trying hard to deny and suppress. There was apparently a smear campaign against Potter and Dumbledore, though Batman was especially wary of the latter. He was a headmaster of one of the most famous magical schools in the world, as well as the equivalents of the Speaker of the House and UN Secretary General with his Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW positions respectively. Dumbledore had too much power for his liking.

Clark came up to him. "What's wrong, Bruce?"

Batman handed the printout of the communication to Clark, who read it, and frowned. "Is this true? Has Kori gotten engaged to one of the most famous wizards?"

"It seems so. The godfather of Potter is requesting asylum with us. I want to bring J'onn in to interrogate him. M'gann may have already checked, but…"

"Yes, I know you want to be careful, Bruce. And given that Connor is there, along with Dick, and the others, I can't blame you. Especially with wizards involved."

Batman nodded. Kryptonians were very nearly invincible, but magic was one of their few vulnerabilities. That, and a certain glowing rock known as Kryptonite. "There's nothing we need to deal with for the time being?"

"Not as far as we know," Clark said.

"Good."

"Bruce, while caution is needed, I don't think this is a sinister plot."

"No, neither do I," Batman admitted. "But neither of us have survived without making sure…"

* * *

Titans Tower. An ultramodern monolith of glass and concrete, in the shape of a 'T'. Rather conspicuous, true, but superheroes tended to be anyway.

It was strange, seeing it from so high off the ground, supported by nothing but your own willpower, not from magic, but by the strange abilities of an alien race. And yet, here Harry was, doing just that. He was resisting temptation just to soar through the air as fast as he could, with considerable difficulty, if only because he wasn't used to the whole 'flying without a broom' thing. Plus, Kori was tutoring him in this. He didn't want to go beyond what she was teaching him yet. After all, she was more familiar with Tamaranean powers than he was.

The others were in Titans Tower, waiting for the members of the Justice League sent to confirm Sirius' innocence to arrive later today, it being the morning after their initial meeting. Hermione was apparently raiding the library under the watchful eye of Raven, the Twins had hit it off with Beast Boy and were swapping notes on pranks, while Sirius and Remus were waiting for the members of the League to come here.

"Okay," Kori said. "First, fly ten laps around the Tower. Don't go too fast: we can go at supersonic speeds in an atmosphere, and even beyond light speed in space. But you aren't ready, I don't think."

Harry nodded, before he began to do as she said. The temptation was there to go faster, but just flying at speed was thrilling enough. And instinct did the rest, a combination of (he presumed) his dormant Tamaranean instincts, and his Seeker instincts from Quidditch. He even did a few loops around the arms of the 'T' for good measure, much to Kori's delight.

"Good! Your control is superb!" she said, clapping her hands together in glee.

"Playing Quidditch helped," Harry said.

"Quidditch? Oh, that wizarding sport played on broomsticks! Rachel told me about it. Apparently a sport called Quodpot is more popular here. What position did you play?"

"Seeker."

"Ah, the one that catches the…Snitch, was it? Well, that explains your ability, if it isn't your Tamaranean blood," Kori mused. "Well, I'm sure you have the basics of flying down, but keep in mind that it's still dependent on our reserves of absorbed ultraviolet radiation. While we still have reserves of it, we can survive even in the vacuum of space. But if our reserves are ever exhausted, so are we, and we are vulnerable, and I don't know how big your reserves are. In addition, metallic chromium causes something like an allergic reaction. Nothing dangerous to us, beyond what would be considered a bad cold, but we lose control over our powers as we recover. Now, during your time here, I will be training you in combat. Firstly, how to use your Starbolts in battle, and then, how to fight in our martial arts. Normally, I would have Robin teach you the latter, but his martial arts are necessarily earthbound, and while he can fight in mid-air, it is usually while using grappling lines. Tamaranean martial arts, though, are designed for use both on the ground and in mid-air, flying freely."

"I don't think a Death Eater's going to allow me to get close enough to punch or kick them," Harry pointed out.

"Our Starbolts are very much a part of our martial arts, Harry. Avoiding them is very much a part of it. In addition, you can integrate your spells with our martial arts. I am aware, for example, that there is at least one that disarms your attackers. Most wizards and witches would try to retrieve their wands instead of trying to use wandless magic, from what Rachel tells me. Maybe we should try getting you to use wandless magic in conjunction with your Starbolts," Kori said. "Also, keep in mind that humans in general are trained mostly to deal with threats on a horizontal plane. Threats from above take more time to process. Of course, there is a trade-off to flying: it does open you up to more fire from ground forces." She floated forward, and poked him in the chest. "Keep this in mind: you are far more durable than a human being would be, but you are not invincible. We do feel that way in combat, and sometimes, we get reckless. I know I have. We are creatures of passion rather than reason, Harry."

"Figures I'd be a Gryffindor," Harry snarked. On her confused look, he said, "We get sorted into different Houses in Hogwarts according to our attributes. Ravenclaw emphasises a desire to learn, Hufflepuff hard work and loyalty, Slytherin cunning and ambition, and Gryffindor…well, bravery and valour, though it's also a House where fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

Kori laughed at that, a beautiful, musical sound. "Harry, there is nothing wrong with being brave and valorous, or wanting to learn, or hard work, loyalty, ambition, cunning…they're all good qualities. I'd probably be a Gryffindor or a Hufflepuff."

"Probably. They'd all be drooling at you, especially in that getup."

She rolled her eyes, laughing again. "Humans, so obsessed with sex, and yet having so many hang-ups about nudity and how much skin we show." She became a little more serious then, still smiling, but something else in her face showing. "You do like me, don't you?"

"Who wouldn't?" Harry asked. "You're very beautiful, and you seem to be very caring. I should be asking you the same question, Kori."

"And what I see so far reassures me. You're pretty handsome yourself, and your actions have shown you to care about what I think. I still want to get to know you better before we wed, but…my heart tells me we would do well together." She then embraced him, kissing him, not the more chaste kiss of before, but her tongue was now probing gently at his lips. After a moment, he returned the favour. Okay, maybe they were moving a bit fast, they hadn't known each other for a day, and yet, it strangely felt right.

Maybe that was his Tamaranean instincts talking. Or maybe just his lust. But it felt right. And so they hung, floating in the middle of the sky, embracing and kissing, revelling in the intimacy of their act, going no further than kissing, but intimate all the same. And warmth was flowing between them, through their joined lips, a warmth more profound than anything Harry had felt before.

Then, with reluctance on both their parts, they broke apart. They were Tamaraneans, creatures of passion and pleasure, but now was not the time for that, they knew. Starfire, blushing, pointed to a target range. "Let's begin our target training. You'll need to learn how to hit targets while flying through the air. We emphasise agility and speed, attacking on the run to avoid counterattacks. Let's get started…"

* * *

Hermione looked around in wonder. She had been shown by Rachel into the Titans' library. While nowhere near as large or comprehensive as Hogwarts' library, she was already entranced, all but drooling. "What sort of books do you have here?" Hermione asked.

"Mostly textbooks," Rachel said. "Some at high school level, others at university level. They're on a wide variety of subjects: medicine, criminology, xenobiology, martial arts, and so on. But we've got a few fiction books, though most of us keep our personal books in our rooms. Garfield has all sorts of comic books and zoology texts, for example. I study magical texts, and…well, I also enjoy some fantasy novels," she admitted.

"Nothing wrong with that," Hermione said. "You like reading?"

"Reading and learning in general. It's soothing," Rachel said. "My powers are tied to my emotions, so keeping calm is a necessity for me. In any case, I suppose if I went to Hogwarts, I would be in Ravenclaw. At Ilvermorny, I would lean towards the Horned Serpent."

"I insisted that the Sorting Hat put me in Gryffindor…because Dumbledore was in it. The Hat thought I'd do better in Ravenclaw," Hermione mused. "Still, you sound like you learned a lot in Azarath. Was life there peaceful?"

"Mostly. Certainly more peaceful than Earth, though I will admit, it was a bit dull most of the time," Rachel said quietly. After a moment, she asked, "Hermione…do you think Harry would be a good match for Kori?"

Hermione didn't hesitate. "Harry is a good guy, Rachel. Despite everything that's been done to him…and despite the fact that he hates his fame…he tries to do good by as many as he can. I've known that since my first year at Hogwarts, when he leapt onto the back of a Troll for me, to save my life. Frankly, I'm a little jealous of Kori, but…I know Harry sees me more as a sister figure, and I can't really shake off feeling like he's a brother more than boyfriend material. Frankly, he was my first actual friend, Rachel. In all of eleven years, I hadn't made a single friend. I'd driven them away by being…well, Ron called me once a bossy know-it-all. Harry is my friend, and unless he changes for the worse, it will stay that way." Hermione peered at the grey-skinned girl. "You're worried for Kori, aren't you?"

"Yes. In many ways, she is my opposite. True, she has gone through trauma in her past, and you haven't seen her at her cheeriest, but most of the time, she goes through life with what could be considered sunny optimism in a human. But she's Tamaranean. They follow their passions and emotions more than their reason, more than humans do. They're generally peaceful hedonists, but don't mistake a peaceful nature for pacifistic or weak. They are equally as passionate in battle as they are in peace. I've seen Starfire in battle. She takes down enemies hard. But I don't want to see her hurt. Then again, the only way Harry would do that is either by accident…or by getting killed."

"He wouldn't hurt her deliberately," Hermione said. "And at least with these powers, he has more of a chance to take down Voldemort."

Rachel nodded. "True. Voldemort has decades of experience over Harry. He'll need every advantage he can get. Believe me, we'll be training him to make sure he will have a chance. And the offer goes for you too. You may not be part-Tamaranean, but that doesn't matter. We have plenty of training we can put you through. Hogwarts' inconsistency when it comes to Defence Against the Dark Arts may mean your experience is…somewhat lacking. I can help you there. Believe me, I have more experience with the Dark Arts than I'd like to talk about in detail."

Hermione noted the bitterness in the girl's tone, at the surprising self-loathing, and found herself having a suspicion as to why that was the case. A suspicion she kept to herself, as she was sure the Titans already knew. "Well, if you're offering…"

"I am. I'd rather deal with you than those redheads," Rachel said. "I can already feel the migraine coming on, as I'm sure they'll team up with Garfield to do something…"

As if on cue, there was a yelp of surprise (Hermione would later learn it came from Speedy, the protégé of Green Arrow), and a chorus of laughter. Rachel palmed her face. "And there it is…" she muttered resignedly. "I hope they get everything fixed up before the League gets here…"

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry's training with Kori, and Hermione's bonding with Rachel. I have to admit, I'm a bit undecided: should I ship Hermione with Raven, or with Robin? I don't mind either way.**

 **Next chapter (which might be a while), the Justice League comes a-calling…**

 **Review-answering time!** **frustratedbuffalo** **: Never watched it, never have cause to. So bite me. :P**

 **Guest** **: Well, regarding Harry's superhero name, that's a possibility.**

 **coduss** **: They'll put Voldemort into the Phantom Zone, I'd guess.**

 **Fireofargentis** **: I'd do that if it fits the story, but the only heroic characters I would bash would be Dumbledore, James Potter, and Sirius. Here, Dumbledore's more of a fool than malicious, and he will become a help, while the Weasleys are more guilty of drinking the Dumbledore Kool-Aid than being malicious.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	7. Chapter 6: The Justice League

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **THE JUSTICE LEAGUE**

It was all Harry could do not to actually fanboy out, and he knew that Hermione and Tonks were trying to do the same. After all, he was currently in the same room as Superman, and in the next room, Wonder Woman, the Martian Manhunter, and Batman were interrogating Sirius Black. Kori and Rachel were present too, while the other Titans were elsewhere. "They won't be too rough with him, will they?" Hermione asked.

Superman chuckled, the blue-clad, dark-haired superhero apparently in good humour. "I asked Diana to come along because her lasso compels people to tell the truth. With J'onn's telepathy and Batman's interrogation ability on top of that…well, while it won't be any walk in the park, I think Black's going to be all right."

"Yes! It's so good when we can resolve these things without fighting to the death!" Kori cheered, pumping her fist into the air. "I mean, I like fighting and all, but I don't like fighting people who should be friends."

Again, Superman chuckled, and looked at Harry. "Kori's a good girl, Harry. I have to be honest, I was surprised when we heard about you and Kori. We hoped it was a pleasant surprise. We haven't exactly been on the best of terms with MACUSA."

"If they're anything like the Wizengamot, I'm not surprised," Harry said.

"True. Magic…is one of the few things that affects me. Leaving aside MACUSA, I've had a few bad experiences with it. I don't hate wizards or witches, or magic for that matter. But, well…let's just say that I hope you never meet Mr Mxyzptlk."

"And who's that?" Tonks asked.

Rachel, who was nearby, rolled her eyes. "Those two redheads would love him. Mxyzptlk is an imp from another dimension. He's ridiculously powerful, and ridiculously puerile. He especially loves annoying Superman."

Superman grimaced at the reminder. "In any case, I heard things about you, Harry. Some good, some bad, though admittedly, the latter was mostly due to the press imported from Britain. I'm glad to see that the bad press seems to be mostly unfounded."

"Only mostly?" Harry asked, not sure whether he should feel offended.

"I haven't known you for long enough. Please, don't be offended. Batman's paranoia is infectious."

Even Rachel chuckled softly at that joke. And Harry had to admit, he had a point. Here, he was the unknown quantity with the Justice League and the Titans. They didn't know him from his reputation.

"Harry may be nothing like the Boy Who Lived in the books," Hermione declared, "but he is still a good person. He took on a Troll for me. At eleven. Okay, it was stupid and reckless, but still…"

Kori grinned. "Wow."

"I wasn't alone. Ron helped out. He knocked the Troll out, and, well, I stuck my wand up its nose," Harry said, grimacing at the reminder of Troll snot covering his wand.

" _Ew_. You do NOT abuse your magical focus in that manner," Rachel said, grimacing in disgust at the thought.

At that moment, the door opened, and Batman, Wonder Woman, and Martian Manhunter walked out. "He's telling the truth," Wonder Woman said, pursing her lips thoughtfully. The dark-haired beautiful Amazon looked over at Harry and Kori, and smiled. "We'll start getting things together to contact MACUSA. That being said, actually exonerating your godfather is another matter, Harry. My Lasso of Truth may compel people to tell absolute truth, but wizards fear powers that they don't understand, and my people have not been on the best of terms with them, even before I joined the Justice League. The Amazons and the wizards of the world have clashed before."

The hulking green form of the Martian Manhunter nodded. "I've reviewed the memories of not only the incident in question, but also other related incidents. There's no suggestion as far as I can tell that the memories are falsified."

"Any other thoughts? Batman?" Superman asked.

"Definitive proof would be to find Pettigrew and present him to the authorities," the dark-costumed vigilante said, crossing his arms. "Given his ability to turn into a rat and his allegiance with Voldemort's forces makes doing so considerably difficult. That being said, I see no reason not to notify MACUSA that Sirius Black is considered not guilty of any crime, beyond being an unregistered Animagus, and given what we did to the ones who tried to give Garfield a hard time…"

"I see. So we will grant Sirius Black asylum with the Justice League?" Superman asked.

"As much as I believe the Titans to be more than capable of keeping an eye on him, I'd feel safer with him being with us," Batman said. He looked over at Sirius as the wizard walked out of the room, followed by Remus. "I'm afraid it'll be close to house arrest unless we get at least MACUSA if not the British to see reason, but…"

"It's got to be better than my old family home," Sirius said.

"So, are we fine?" Harry asked.

After a moment, Superman asked, "Harry, can I speak to you and Kori?" He met the eyes of his fellow superheroes. "Alone."

* * *

They went into the very room that Sirius had been interrogated in. As they closed the door, Harry asked, "Is this going to be one of those 'if you dare hurt Kori' speeches? Only, Robin already gave me one of those."

"No, no, that's not it," Superman said, shaking his head. "Not quite, anyway. I'm…I'm just worried. I think we all are. We feel responsible for the Titans, all of us in the League. My question is more, what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm curious as to what you'll do now. You're welcome to stay here with the Titans or with the League, but given what I've learned about Voldemort, he seems like the sort who will want you dead. That means he's a danger to you and everyone around you." He held up a hand as Harry's anger grew. "Please, don't misunderstand me, Harry. I don't mean that in a nasty way. But either way, Kori, by dint of being your fiancée, is now in danger. Do you intend to go back to Britain?"

"I…eventually, yes. I mean, I have friends back home." Well, even if the Weasleys were too beholden to Dumbledore, he couldn't leave them to die. And there was Neville, and the others in Hogwarts. "If I don't stop Voldemort…they'll be killed. Maybe with these powers, I stand a better chance of stopping him. Because, well, he won't stop until I am dead."

"Are you willing to kill him?" Superman asked quietly.

"…I don't know. But how else can you stop him?"

"There may be ways. Don't get me wrong, I've killed a few times, but…I never like it. And even then, it was only in certain cases. I'm glad you feel uneasy about the concept."

"When I was eleven…I killed someone. By accident," Harry said hastily. "Voldemort possessed one of my teachers, Quirrell, and when he tried to grab me to kill me, he burned. I was trying to survive, and…" His voice caught in his throat. "I didn't think it would kill him. I just…"

"Harry…" Kori said, before looking at Superman sharply, who held up his hands in a placating manner.

"It's okay to feel like that, Harry. And it was self-defence. But it's not something you should make a habit of. Don't worry, it doesn't mean we should let him run riot. There are alternatives, like the Phantom Zone. And you're right. Voldemort does need to be stopped."

"I won't let him take Harry from me," Kori declared, quietly but firmly.

"I'm sure you won't," Superman said. "But will you go back with him to Britain?"

"Of course!"

"The wizards over there are just as ignorant as over here," Superman warned. "Many detest those of what they consider to be 'creature heritage', and they would view any alien as a creature, regardless of whether you look human or not."

"I am not afraid of the opinions of some foolish wizards," Kori declared. "I am Koriand'r of Tamaran. I may no longer be a princess thanks to my sister, but I will not back down from any fight, even if it is a war of words and opinions rather than a true battle. I will also not let injustice take hold, and if I have to leave the Titans to help Harry with his troubles, then so be it."

"Leave the Titans? You would go that far, Kori?" Superman asked.

"Not for good, obviously. But…if I can help Harry stop what is happening in Britain, I will."

Superman then nodded. "Good. Leaving the Titans is a bit drastic, but this marriage contract does throw something of a wrench into the works." He chuckled a little, before looking at Harry. "We can't exactly send all of the League to help, though, or the Titans. We have our responsibilities. But we will do what we can. Actually, there's a few people associated with the League who might be able to help."

"Magic users?" Harry asked.

"Yes. Doctor Fate, for example, and Zatanna. Constantine's also a possibility, he lives in Britain, though he's not the best person for the job. And Constantine told me once of a woman called Thessaly, though by all accounts, she is, while not actually evil, amoral and utterly ruthless. To a degree, so is Constantine. In any case, we may be able to call upon someone to help."

"I understand. I'm sorry for dragging you into this, but…"

"It's fine. Believe me, I've been dragged into worse situations than this. Compared to dealing with Darkseid, this is just another Tuesday."

* * *

Batman resisted the urge to rub his forehead with difficulty. Both the urge, which was difficult to suppress, and the action, which would have been difficult with the armoured cowl. Lupin had pulled him and Wonder Woman aside to discuss how Voldemort cheated death. "These Horcruxes are what give Voldemort his immortality?"

"I know of such things," Wonder Woman said. "Foul things, created by the darkest of magic. Herpo the Foul was said to have created one out of one of our sacred treasures, one that had to be destroyed."

"The Amazons dealt with Herpo the Foul?" Lupin asked in astonishment.

"Yes. He had long since been an enemy of our people when we refused to share the secrets of our immortality, so the histories of Themyscira say," Wonder Woman said. "Herpo once led an invasion against Themyscira and managed to capture a few of our number to experiment on and find the secret to our immortality. Failing that, he was said to have developed the Horcrux ritual as a perversion of one of our own rituals. Even when we killed his mortal shell, his foul spirit lived on, and was given new form by his followers. It took time to track down his Horcruxes, for he created two, and destroy them both, but he was a recurring plague on my people until then. One of the Horcruxes, as I mentioned, was one of our sacred treasures. We were forced to use his own Basilisk to destroy it, for one of our number was a Parselmouth. Herpo's followers learned that day of how terrible the wrath of the Amazons is."

"But you valued Parselmouths?" Lupin asked. On Batman's questioning look, he clarified, "Someone who can talk to snakes."

"Parseltongue is a gift from Asclepius and Apollo," Wonder Woman said. "Snakes may appear abhorrent, but they are symbols of good _and_ evil. Unfortunately, from what I have discerned, your society views them with fear and loathing due to the actions of Parselmouths who delve into the darkest of arts."

"I think a better question is, how many Horcruxes do you think Voldemort may have made? Given what little I admittedly know of him, his reputation does suggest an obsession with cheating death. It seems possible that he has created multiple Horcruxes."

"I don't know, but I can suspect. Certain numbers have more powerful or stable magic than others," Lupin said. "Three, seven, nine, twelve, etcetera. I would hazard seven, though I can't be absolutely certain of that. If you split your soul too many times in such a manner, it would become unstable, from what little I know of the subject. Three would be too few for someone like Voldemort. But the one dispelled from Harry was probably an accident." His frown deepened. "Now that I come to think about it, Harry and Hermione told me once of a diary once belonging to Voldemort that had an echo, a living memory. That was destroyed by Basilisk venom."

"If it was a Horcrux, it would have been destroyed," Wonder Woman said with a satisfied nod.

"But the one you believe was in Potter's scar is now gone. How?" Batman asked.

"That is indeed the question, though I can speculate," Wonder Woman said. "Horcruxes normally need the vessel to be destroyed beyond magical repair, or else be subjected to a process that removes the soul from the body. The vile Killing Curse of the wizards, or the Dementor's Kiss may do so, but, if performed to a living being turned into a Horcrux, it would normally be at the cost of the host's life. Perhaps the reversal of the transfiguration on Harry somehow did it, or perhaps there is something innate to Tamaranean biology that would reject a Horcrux. I am no expert on the magical arts of mortals. I only know of what is in the archives at Themyscira, and from our dealings with MACUSA and other mages."

"What matters is that it's out of Harry now," Lupin said. "Incidentally, thanks for helping out Padfoot. He's a handful, but he's a good friend."

Batman looked over to the dark-haired fugitive, who was regaling the Weasley Twins with some anecdote or other, while Granger and Raven looked on. The man was still going to be trouble, he knew it. The question was, how much?

Still, Batman knew that, being a force for justice, it fell on him to correct injustice. And clearing a man's name was part of it. Still, this situation was getting even more complicated by the hour…

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Okay, there'll be something of a timeskip for the next chapter, to what Dumbledore and the Ministry is doing…plus, I'm considering the reveal of who is going to be teaching DADA at Hogwarts. And it's not Umbridge…though they were mentioned earlier in this chapter.**

 **Review-answering time!** **raynisia** **: Harry's blood won't give Voldemort a power-up. Well, save for maybe fuelling his magical reserves with ultraviolet rays. However, it was still Lily's sacrifice that empowered Harry's defence against Voldemort.**

 **valdiusmacto** **: Starbolts seem innate to Kori in the TV show, and as this story is based on a hybrid of the various continuities, I thought I'd make it an innate ability.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	8. Chapter 7: Thessaly, Witch for Hire

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **THESSALY, WITCH FOR HIRE**

Dumbledore was troubled, for many reasons. Troubled because the boy he was trying to shape towards his sadly necessary destiny was missing, along with the surviving Marauders, Miss Granger, Miss Tonks, and the Weasley Twins. Troubled because, not long ago, MACUSA had made an announcement that Sirius Black had sought asylum within the United States, and in particular, with the Justice League. And troubled because Dumbledore was yet to fill the position of DADA instructor for the year, and it seemed that he would have to reluctantly accede to Fudge and allow that appalling woman Umbridge to fill the role.

Which was perhaps why, when a woman turned up and asked whether she could go for the position, he at least agreed to see her. That, he was beginning to feel, may have been a mistake.

The woman was apparently in her twenties or thirties, not unattractive (well, if he were into women, anyway), but not really remarkable. Light brown hair framed her features, large glasses over her eyes giving her a bookish air. Yet Dumbledore couldn't help but feel the power coming off her in waves. And more than that: the sense of age, of something ancient sitting in front of him. And far more ancient than he was, too. He was over a century old, and yet, he knew, with utter conviction, that she had been old when Merlin was but a twinkle in his parents' eyes. And there was a coldness in her eyes, nothing evil or dark, just ruthless.

"I haven't been here for a long time," the woman remarked, her accent American, though with layers of other places tainting it. "It's strange how some things change so little, and others change so much."

"I'm sorry, were you a student here, my dear woman? Only, I'm not sure I remember you."

"We have never met. I visited Hogwarts a couple of times in the past," the woman said (and Dumbledore found it frustrating to be on the receiving end of such precise but uninformative utterances for once). "I do keep in touch with a mutual acquaintance, though. John Constantine."

Oh. Oh _dear_. Well, that was rather appalling. John Constantine was a Hogwarts dropout. He had injured a number of his fellow Slytherins (albeit Death Eaters), and he had been rumoured to have been involved in a few killings. Dumbledore had tried to reach out to him, but after finishing his OWLs, Constantine left Hogwarts. Reports later suggested he now used a different kind of magic, and now worked as an occult detective known as the Hellblazer, infamous in a number of circles. Moody had encountered him before on a number of occasions, and had reported that Constantine was somewhat ruthless and manipulative, but also worked to try and stop demonic incursion. It didn't stop Constantine from being combative towards the Ministry of Magic, though.

Constantine was also said to be a liaison with the Justice League whenever they operated either in magical circles, or else in Britain. Dumbledore knew of the Justice League and their affiliates: he was…well, he used to be the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and he had heard complaints from the American representatives about these so-called 'superheroes' for some time. He was concerned, true, given the strange and unnatural powers they exhibited, but he also found them perversely admirable. Plus, the American representatives tended to be rather full of themselves, and Dumbledore took some small schadenfreude from their anger.

Actually, if he recalled correctly, one of the key members of the Justice League was Zatanna Zatara, the daughter of renegade mage Giovanni Zatara. And there was that Amazon woman, one of the few to venture forth from Themyscira for…centuries, was it? Wonder Woman.

This didn't seem like coincidence. Constantine had links with the Justice League, the organisation offering Sirius shelter in the USA. And this woman had a link to Constantine.

The woman, as if reading his mind, nodded. "Constantine got an interesting missive from the Justice League about your school, and a couple of its students. Now, he didn't think he could get time off to teach, but he suggested I come forward. My name is Thessaly. I guess you could call me a witch for hire."

Thessaly…it was said that, in ancient times, Thessaly was the Greek hub for mages of all kinds, their witches becoming infamous enough to be noted in the writings of Plato. Leaving that aside for now, Dumbledore asked, "So you know of their whereabouts?"

"If I did, I wouldn't tell you. And please don't be so boring as to try and plead with me or coerce me or anything like that, Professor Dumbledore," Thessaly said. "I'm only doing this because I'm feeling somewhat well-inclined enough to return a favour I was given long ago. That, and you'll have that Batrachian Bitch teaching future Aurors utter garbage otherwise."

Dumbledore couldn't dispute with that logic. Regardless of whether or not Umbridge had any overt links to the Death Eaters, she was still a Blood Purist and someone who helped out Lucius Malfoy. What's more, she had declared Slinkhard's book to be all needed for DADA, a book that only advocated running away and finding the nearest authority members. Not a great lesson for future Aurors, Dumbledore understood.

Still, he needed to impress on her the importance of Harry needing to return here. "My dear lady, if you are in contact with the Justice League, I need you to tell them that Harry needs to return to his relatives. It is for…"

"His own safety?" Thessaly snorted in disdain. "I took a look at those protections. _Blood Wards_." She sneered in a manner that would have made Snape look upon her as his new patron deity. "They may work to a degree, but they work best with loving relatives. As it is, a good _sneeze_ would have blown them away, even at their strongest. Harry Potter will be coming back to Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore, along with his fiancée, but _entirely_ on his own terms." And then, she gave a rather nasty smirk. "And don't think about using Antioch Peverell's penis substitute on me either." As shock shot through Dumbledore's body at that, she nodded. "Yes, I know you possess one of the Hallows. If I really wanted to, I could take it from you and gain mastery. Like taking candy from a baby. But I have no interest in them. I have enough enemies without adding to them by taking the Elder Wand."

After a moment, Dumbledore, trying to regain a handle on the moment, said, "I'm not sure I can trust you to teach my students how to defend themselves."

"That's wise. But I think a better question is, do you trust Umbridge to do the same?"

That, indeed, was the question…

* * *

The woman who currently called herself Thessaly strode down the corridors of Hogwarts. It had taken some more negotiation, but she was now Professor Magissa Thessaly, DADA instructor at Hogwarts. And having done some investigation of the prior incumbents, she had to admit, she had her work cut out for her.

It was actually two favours she was repaying by doing this. A long time ago, she had done a service to the Founders. She chuckled inwardly. Slytherin, far from being the pureblood bigot he was portrayed as in the history books, was more of a paranoiac about Muggles, as this inbred corner of magical society called mundanes. Gryffindor was a hotheaded fool, and Slytherin's expulsion was actually a temporary self-imposed exile. Hell, Hufflepuff was the only sane one of the quartet, with Ravenclaw being a knowledge-obsessed bitch who had neglected her own family.

Hufflepuff, dear Helga, she was the one Thessaly felt the obligation to. The other Founders could frankly go fuck themselves. It had been Helga who had helped her find the writings she needed, helped nurse her back to health after Thessaly fell afoul of some of her enemies.

Of course, there was another favour that was repaid. That one was from one of the Endless, one of the seven personifications of various concepts. She had met Dream not long ago, for the first time in centuries, while trying to eliminate a Cuckoo, a parasitic dream creature. Death, she had encountered more than a few times. Came with the territory, when you were an immortal witch who had been around since before the dawn of civilisation. However, Death (who took the form of a cheerful young woman in goth clothing) had helped her out once in the past, and had now come to collect.

Apparently Harry Potter was one of the potential 'Masters of Death', a misnomer that actually meant that Harry had a special relationship with Death of the Endless. It was less that he could command her, and more that he was able to summon her as readily as any of her fellow Endless. And apparently Death had a bit of a soft spot for Harry.

Constantine had been the one to contact her, and after he discussed that, she had made tentative contact with the Justice League. She knew that the Batman didn't trust her one jot, and she wasn't surprised. The man's paranoia and suspicion was legendary, though she had a moment of impish delight of considering calling him by his…well, not real name, as he considered 'Batman' to be his true identity now. But maybe she could make him crap himself by calling him 'Bruce'.

She had studied what became of Harry, and found that fascinating. A partial transfiguration that suppressed his Tamaranean heritage. She had to wonder how good Lily Potter actually had been at her subjects. Harry was still pretty much a goody two-shoes, but even so, better than she thought for someone called 'Dumbledore's Golden Boy'. And he was more than willing to fight to keep his friends safe. Still as quixotic as some of these so-called superheroes, but that wasn't always a bad thing. She just preferred the subtle, shadowy approach.

If Thessaly had ever attended Hogwarts as a student, she would most definitely have been sorted into Slytherin…

* * *

Harry had to resist the urge to whoop and holler as he and Kori flew around Jump City. It was so exhilarating, so freeing, to be flying like this, without a broom, just willpower and alien powers. Except…they weren't alien, just a part of him.

Over the past couple of weeks, he had gotten training from the Titans, and particularly Kori. So too had the others: Hermione was spending more and more time with Rachel, learning new magic. It had been something of a shock to learn that Rachel was not only half-demon, but the daughter of one of the most powerful and vile demons, Trigon the Terrible. Still, Harry didn't hold it against the young sorceress, and she had, even now, begun to open up to him.

The Twins had, of course, gravitated to some of the more prank-loving members, like Garfield Logan and Wally West, aka Beast Boy and Kid Flash. And on occasion, they had received visits from other superheroes, young and old. Harry met Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, as well as Superboy. And there were the interesting talks he had with Speedy and M'gann, not to mention Robin. After the shaky beginning, Harry got along better with the protégé of Batman, and while he didn't let identifying details slip, he did confess that, like Harry, he had been orphaned, albeit at a later age.

But the strongest bond of all came with Kori. It was more than just friendship: Kori had taken Harry under her wing, delighting in teaching him not only about his powers and physiology, but the culture of Tamaran. He had to admit, it was fascinating to learn about the culture of another world, one that he had a connection to, even if at several removes. They even had entire conversations in the Tamaranean language.

Kori indicated for them to perch on the edge of the roof of one of the taller skyscrapers of Jump City. Sometimes, they liked to do this, just hang out, get to know each other better. So they came in to land, and sat on the edge. As they did so, Harry muttered, in Tamaranean, " _Hope nobody thinks we're suicidal._ "

Kori chuckled. " _They won't. They know me by sight, and if they see your skin, they'll think, huh, he's like her._ " She looked down at the city below, sighing gently. " _I've had to rescue a few suicidal people. Many of us have, or at least those who can fly. Many of them said they changed their minds mid-air. A few tried to sue us. We've got good lawyers, though. I mean…I know why they think that way. There's been at least one time where I've felt the same way. We Tamaraneans feel emotions perhaps more intensely than humans do…and that includes despair. It was when my sister had betrayed us, had captured me…she even gloated that she was going to sell me off as a sex slave. I was lucky I got out of there._ "

" _I'm sorry. But I've felt the same way more than once. Too many times, especially when I was with the Dursleys._ " Harry looked down at himself. He was now wearing a bodysuit in blue, but with a similar style to Kori's outfit. It showed his now desirable figure quite nicely. " _They used to call me a freak. By their terms, they were right._ "

" _But by our terms, you are not._ " Kori took his hand, the warmth once more comforting to him. " _One thing these fools do not realise that it is not skin colour or religion or even your species that defines whether you are a good person. It's what you do with yourself._ "

There would have been more, but then, Kori's phone chirped from the belt she had clipped it to, and she took it out and flipped it open. " _Thessaly just messaged us_ ," she said. " _Dumbledore has accepted her as a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. And as she's allowed to bring an assistant_ …" She turned to him with a smile. " _We won't have to be separated, Harry._ "

Harry shared her smile. True, from the one time he actually met Thessaly, he had gotten a vibe of someone he didn't want to mess with, and he certainly didn't feel at ease around her, but better her than someone else. According to Constantine, whom Harry also met, Fudge was looking to install his own DADA teacher if Dumbledore couldn't find someone, and that someone was one Dolores Umbridge, someone Remus had hated.

Still, if he could attend Hogwarts without having to be separated from Kori, whom he could already claim as a friend, then that was great. He just had to hope that he could get through this year more or less intact…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Now, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering, Why Thessaly? Why not, say, Zatanna or Constantine? Well, there's a few good reasons for that. For Zatanna, she pretty much is attached to the Justice League. For Constantine, it's his reputation. Thessaly, however, keeps a relatively low profile, only being on the Justice League's radar because of her association with Constantine which, AFAIK, didn't happen in the comics, but it's not unreasonable to assume that the two may know each other, if only because Constantine would want to know which people NOT to piss off…only to do so anyway.**

 **Now, some people may not even know who she is. Thessaly is a character who originated, AFAIK, in Neil Gaiman's** ** _The Sandman_** **. Thessaly makes her debut in** ** _A Game of You_** **, the events of which are briefly alluded to in this chapter, and is also obliquely mentioned later as a brief paramour of Dream, something confirmed in** ** _The Wake_** **. Thessaly also appears just before** ** _The Wake_** **in** ** _The Kindly Ones_** **, protecting Lyta Hall's physical body while Lyta goes about her own quest for revenge.**

 **Thessaly is a rather cold pragmatist, but while amoral, she's not actually malicious, at least against most people. She is immortal, and is hinted to be at least as old as the Stone Age. This age gave me licence to basically have her reminisce about the time she spent at Hogwarts during the Founders' Era, as well as why she would stoop to teaching DADA to a bunch of kids. Plus, it would be funny to pair up the straitlaced and amoral Thessaly with the exuberant Starfire as teacher and assistant. And even if they aren't actually in the series, I do like mixing in other elements from the wider DC universe.**

 **EDIT: Embarassing mistake over Beast Boy's real name. GAH!**

 **Review-answering time!** **Leicontis** **: I'm pretty sure there's a one-shot fanfic along those lines somewhere.**

 **Wrin** **: I described Harry's new appearance as basically looking like a male Starfire in some regards. In addition, well, Tamaraneans have the same resistance to magic as anyone else. In other words, if a spell hits them, well, it has the same effect. Though given what superheroes go through on a daily basis, I think they'd be better at throwing off the Imperius or the Cruciatus than most people.**

 **Eljin1** **: Keep in mind that Voldemort pretty much steamrollered over the magical government, even those who weren't sheeple or quislings. Plus, the superheroes know, partly due to research, that Voldemort will probably not stop targeting Harry until either of them are dead.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	9. Chapter 8: Back to Britain

**CHAPTER 8:**

 **BACK TO BRITAIN**

In the end, it wasn't just Kori who came over. Rachel had decided to come over too, posing as a transfer student. Harry had noticed that she and Hermione had become friends, given their bookish nature, though Hermione was more bossy, and Rachel was quiet, though with an acid tongue. This had been approved by the Justice League, and apparently Kara Zor-El, aka Supergirl, was transferring into the Titans for the time being.

Still, it wasn't without little trials and travails, as they learned…

* * *

Kori staggered around after they had let go of the rope, looking distinctly nauseous. "That…was a most unpleasant experience," the Tamaranean declared.

"Most magical transport is," Rachel said with a grimace. "Especially if it's done by the more inbred corners of the magical community. Between Apparition, the Floo, and Portkeys, I'd rather do things my way."

Harry, who was inclined to agree, decided to change the subject. "So, where's Thessaly?"

The door opened, and a rather scruffy-looking blonde man in a trenchcoat appeared, stinking of cigarette smoke. "Thessaly's gone shopping. So, I've got to babysit you guys."

Harry had met him not so long ago. John Constantine, aka the occult detective known as the Hellblazer. Remus and Sirius didn't have much of a high opinion of him, partly because he had retaliated against the Marauders' attacks. But they did admit he worked hard against the Death Eaters, despite being in Slytherin. Harry liked him to a degree: his acerbic attitude and refusal to talk down to Harry was refreshing. But Rachel had warned him that Constantine had a bad habit of hurting or even sacrificing those close to him while engaging in one of his cases.

"Couldn't we have flown over to Britain?" Kori asked.

"Maybe, if you wanted to be conspicuous. Dumbledore's probably got contacts watching for signs of Harry. Manipulative old fucker can't let go of his meddling tendencies. He might have the best intentions, but take it from someone who knows better than most what the road to Hell is paved with," Constantine said. "A Portkey into a warded property is safer. Now, this is actually one of Bruce Wayne's British properties. He and Batman go way back. I warded it against unwanted attention from magical quarters on his request a couple of years back. It'd be safer under a Fidelius, but for now, it'd take some heavy-duty magic to break it down. Let's take this somewhere a little more comfortable…"

* * *

"So, the story is, you're Kori Andrews," Constantine said once they reached a living room, "a teaching assistant for Professor Thessaly Magissa. Rachel has been accepted under the pseudonym of Rachel Poe, as a transfer from Ilvermorny."

"Stupid pseudonym," Rachel grumbled.

"Yeah, but have you heard some of the surnames in the wizarding world? Some of them make the worst superhero names look stellar by comparison," Constantine pointed out, before glancing at Remus. "No offence, Lupin, but with a name like yours, it's like your father wanted you to get chomped by Fenrir Greyback."

"Some taken, Constantine," Remus said icily.

"Is there anything else?" Harry asked.

"A few things. The really bad news, other than Voldemort keeping under the radar, is that Fudge has appointed Umbridge as Hogwarts High Inquisitor. Publicly, she's there to make sure the standards of teaching are up to snuff. Not that they have been for ages, or else Binns wouldn't be teaching there."

"Or Snivellous," Sirius muttered darkly.

"Oh, he's smart. But I knew even while learning at Hogwarts that he'd be abysmal at teaching," Constantine said. "Slughorn was better, and you can't argue with that. Nepotistic old bastard he may have been, but he was a great teacher."

"You said that checking the teaching standards of Hogwarts was Umbridge's _public_ duty," Hermione said. "But the reality is very different, isn't it? She's going to try and undermine Dumbledore."

"And Harry too," Constantine said. "Smart girl. Umbridge is basically a spy…and is looking to try and get herself into a position of power at Hogwarts. Preferably one to try and force Dumbledore, Harry, and any of their supporters out of the school. As much as I dislike Dumbledore, he's a necessary evil. Take it from someone who knows about necessary evils more than anyone else should. But Fudge is a cowardly little shit who loves taking kickbacks from supposedly reformed Death Eaters. About the only things he's good at is keeping things running and politicking. Keep in mind, though, part of it is because Fudge is a peacetime Minister, not a wartime one. And at the moment, you need Churchill, not Chamberlain. Okay, not a perfect analogy, but you know where I'm coming from. The problem is, Fudge is so willing to deny the slightest possibility of Voldemort's return, he's engaging in character assassination out of paranoia, with Lucius Malfoy whispering in his ear and greasing his palms. And I'm sure Umbridge would be willing to help things along."

"Do you know much about Umbridge?" Hermione asked.

Constantine grimaced. "Unfortunately, yes. She's a vicious xenophobic bitch who wields a lot of power, given that she's Fudge's Senior Undersecretary. While not a Death Eater as far as I know, she's pretty much a groupie. I've met demons more pleasant than she is, and that's saying something. Plus, Lupin here, as he's doubtlessly told you, has suffered from laws she passed. She has a low opinion of those she considers to be Halfbloods, Halfbreeds, and those of 'creature' heritage. Harry and Rachel here count as Halfbreeds, and Kori here as a creature. Most wizards don't know, or care, what an alien is. Though the moment they find out who Rachel's daddy is…well, shit's going to hit the fan faster than you can say Alohamora." He looked over at Remus and Sirius. "You teach them any Occlumency?"

"Some," Remus said. "Kori and Rachel are already well-trained."

"We frequently have to deal with villains who use psychic attacks," Rachel said. "Plus, I need some elements of Occlumency to keep my demonic heritage under control. After all, a lot of Occlumency is about emotional and psychological control. I've been teaching Hermione my own methods."

"And I have been teaching Harry my own," Kori declared. "We have had some tuition from Remus and Sirius, but it would not hurt to improve it."

Constantine nodded. "Good. I thought you and Rachel would have some training in blocking psychic attack, but Harry and Hermione were the ones I was really concerned about. I know for a fact that both Snape and Dumbledore are powerful Legilimens…and so's Voldemort. You can't discount the possibility of any adults, particularly those with links to the Ministry or the Death Eaters, having the same ability. Now, Remus and Sirius…I was told by the Justice League about a particular problem we have regarding Voldemort and how he gained immortality. So, our job is going to try and find a way to track the bastards down and get rid of them for once and for all. That's another reason I contacted Thessaly. She's forgotten more about magic than any of us will ever learn."

"How nice of you to say, John," came a voice from the doorway, the apparently unimpressive form of Thessaly coming through. Harry knew already, thanks to Constantine and Rachel, that she was millennia old at a bare minimum, despite her relatively young looks. And you saw it, to a degree, in her cold, tired eyes behind her glasses, the sense of having seen millennia pass her by. "I do hope you are not trying to butter me up."

"Perish the thought, Thessaly. I know better than to mess with you."

"This coming from the man who regularly dallies with demons?" the ancient witch remarked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm reckless. Just not quite that much. Aside from you, I try not to piss off the Endless and a few others," Constantine said.

"Yes, Dream mentioned you in passing, how you helped him retrieve his bag of sand," Thessaly said, before her expression darkened. "You were lucky, for once, given that your path and his intersected only briefly. In any case, it'll be an interesting experience to attempt to teach these children how to perform magic, and suitable to their level. Though given Umbridge's involvement, it may be interesting in the curse sense of the term."

"Joy. It would have been boring if it was easy," Rachel snarked.

* * *

The wards of the property allowed Harry and Kori to practise flying and combat with ease. Harry used a combination of Starbolts and spells. Rachel joined in as Harry and Kori were actually training in combat.

After about an hour's training, the trio hovered in mid-air. "How are you finding England so far?" Harry asked the two Titans.

"Fine enough," Rachel said. "We've been to Britain before, for missions for the Titans or with the Justice League. Hermione's been a font of information about Magical Britain, from ground level, so to speak." A smirk played about her features. "She loves to lecture. Normally, I don't like people talking at great length to me, but…Hermione is an intelligent conversationalist." Glancing at Kori, she added, "Not that there aren't any in the Titans, but Hermione and I…well, we click."

"I'm glad you're making friends, Rachel," Kori said with her usual smile.

"I think it's partly because, as a Newblood, what you call a Muggleborn here, she knows what it's like to be an outcast," Rachel said. "Plus, it helps that she knew of me before she met me, and doesn't care about my heritage. Most witches don't know about us, or look upon us with contempt, and when they learn who my father was…"

Harry nodded, gently drifting over and putting a reassuring hand on the stoic girl's shoulder. "Rachel, if you're nothing like Trigon, then I don't care that you're part-demon. Kori trusts you, and so do the other Titans. Hermione trusts you too. Plus, if you can't trust a superhero, who can you trust?"

"Fair point," Rachel said. "I mean, we're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination…but we try to be better. We try to be paragons because of our powers. We have an image to live up to. Something I'm sure you can appreciate, Harry, given your unwanted fame. And the sheeple here have even more unrealistic expectations of you. That you turned out halfway decent after all that…personally, I think you'd do well in the Titans. Kori, what do you reckon?"

"Of course! He needs more training, but he'd fit right in!" Kori declared. "So would Hermione!"

"Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman seemed to think so," Harry said.

"High praise coming from Batman," Rachel remarked. "Then again, he wouldn't have let us use Bruce Wayne's manor as a base in Britain if he didn't trust you to some degree."

Harry nodded. He knew that there was a connection between the famous billionaire and Batman. The Titans and the Justice League had hinted that Wayne was the one who supplied Batman with his various equipment and Batsuit, though Harry was sure there was more to it than that.

Still, it had been something he had discussed with Kori, about possibly joining the Titans after everything was said and done. He had to confess, he was sick and tired of dealing with the follies and foibles of Magical Britain. Learning of Fudge's smear campaign was pretty much the last straw, especially after the media attention of last year. It didn't mean he wouldn't stop Voldemort…but after that, he was done with Magical Britain.

In the short period of time he had been with them, the Titans had made him feel more at home than most of Gryffindor, or the rest of Hogwarts for that matter. True, they had treated him with caution at first, but he had been thrust into their lives without any warning, betrothed to one of their friends and comrades.

And, of course, Kori made him feel most welcome of all. At first, he thought it was out of obligation due to the marriage contract. But Kori was genuine in her desire to know her fellow Tamaranean, even if he was only part-Tamaranean. Perhaps it was loneliness, a desire for a connection with her homeworld that didn't bring up bad memories. And more than that: his ignorance of his heritage and abilities allowed her to fill the role of a teacher, to teach him about their abilities and their culture. And he had to admit, he was certainly fascinated by the history and culture of their ancestors. Hermione even liked to listen to these lessons: it was hardly surprising that Hermione would enjoy learning about the culture and history of an alien world. Hell, she had even asked Superman and M'gann about the history of Krypton and Mars respectively, and while Themyscira was technically on Earth, and Azarath in another dimension, she bearded Wonder Woman and Rachel about those too.

Yes…when Voldemort was dealt with, Harry intended to join the Titans. Hermione had told him, during their time in Jump City, that he had a saving people thing. Her words, not his. And he reckoned it would be best put to use, not in Britain, but with people who had welcomed him more than those here. And he had his betrothed. He didn't want to take her away from her friends. Well, not that he really wanted to leave his own, but to be honest, aside from Hermione and the Weasleys, how many friends did he have here his own age? Neville was probably the only one.

But he intended to deal with the problems here first. He was damned if he was going to leave Britain to Voldemort…

 **CHAPTER 8 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Whew! Sorry about the wait for this chapter. Inspiration was lacking, and unfortunately, I don't know where to start for the next one, so it'll be a while yet.**

 **Review-answering time!** **SaintMichael95** **: Yeah, megamatt09 pretty much monopolised that pairing, and** ** _done it to death_** **.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


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